Very long and stressful day. Ended up in the ER with the hubs having a gallbladder attack. Thankfully they didn't have to take him into surgery right away, and he has decided to treat it in less invasive ways (mainly diet. He does not eat healthy at all.)

For "exercise" (not really) I spent some time stretching and massaging my muscles with my foam roller. Definitely couldn't focus to complete a workout.

Thank you, Robert! Our mentor is Amanda Grace Wing, and yes she is amazing and very encouraging!

I have a question for you. How do you handle (if you ever feel this way) the 'disappointment' or 'guilt' you may feel for not working out as often/ as hard as you know you should? I have been looking around your website for an article of the sort, but I can't seem to find one on the topic. It's this, the more sublime and definitely more psychological aspect of being an athlete that I've been struggling with a bit lately; and I wonder how many others have felt like I do. Thanks!

Hey Caro, I find the best way to deal with that kind of guilt is to look at how far I've come in the past few years. That kind of puts things in perspective. There may be ups and downs in the day-to-day, week-to-week stuff, but consistency over the long haul is much more important. I know I got the results I got from that kind of consistency, not from a subset of really good workouts during that time.

As far as your husband's gall bladder, whatever you guys do, DON'T get it removed. Eating healthier is a way better solution, especially long term. Hopefully he'll see what happened as a wake-up call. If you check out The Liferegenerator on youtube, he has a lot of info on juicing and detoxifying. He has helped several people who were going to have their gall bladder removed instead cleanse our their system with juicing and raw foods. He's really entertaining too. http://www.life-regenerator.com

Hi sweetie! I'm so sorry to hear about your stressful day and your husband's gallbladder attack! I hope he is ok and gets better soon. If you or he would like any insight on dealing with the issue, let me know. I agree with Ben's post above- my mom has dealt with gallbladder issues for a long time. For her eliminating fatty foods- especially animal foods like cheese and butter- made all the difference in the world. She used to get attacks often and now doesn't get them at all unless she doesn't stick with something.

As far as your question of missing a workout and feeling guilt, again love what Ben said about looking at how far you've come. Also, try to look at the big picture- if things were totally out of your control then stressing yourself out more about not working out (on top of a stressful situation) will not get you closer to your goal of well-being and ultimate health. Stress plays a massive role in our lives and we don't want to stress our bodies more!

If you're not working out or pushing yourself as hard as you feel you should in general, ask yourself why. Take time to listen to your body- have you been pushing it too hard and it needs a break for a few days? If that's the case, take the break and embrace it. If you take the break and feel badly for it, you'll get nothing out of it. Also look at your diet. Are you fueling well or enough? Sometimes we want to push the body beyond what we are fueling it for. You may need to look at your pre or post workout snacks and make sure they are adequate.

We are all here to encourage and support each other! Don't feel badly about not pushing as hard- just know that you can do more the next time. I always try to do at least 4 hard workouts per week and 2 lighter ones and take a rest day. So hard days- you're all out because you know the next workout will be lighter- like taking a class or doing yoga.

Thanks Ben and Amanda. I'm with you both on thinking this surgery is a huge no-no, and my hope remains that he'll stick to the natural remedies our naturopath recommended, along with the diet change. Fingers crossed!

And also thanks both for your input on the guilt issue. Although my logic tells me it's silly to feel this way, it just catches me by surprise sometimes.

Hey girl! How are you doing? Haven't heard from you in a few days and want to make sure you and the hubs are doing ok! Hope you're training is going well and if you aren't able to make it to the gym you are making time to nurture yourself by meditating, walking or jogging or doing yoga. Let me know of you need anything or have any questions! You can always pop me an email! Xoxox Amanda

Hi Carolina! I'm so sorry I haven't dropped by to check out your journal for a little while. I was going through a rough patch and feeling pretty low, but I see you were having a rough patch of your own! Oh no! I hope both your husband AND you are doing and feeling well. It's okay if you haven't been working out, per se, but I hope you're taking care of yourself and that you'll post soon and let us know how things are going.

Thanks so much everyone for writing. It's one of those tiny things that help brighten a gloomy day, you know?Yes, rough week. Hubs had a second gallbladder attack, but he was able to control it an avoid surgery once again. I'm so proud of him, he's sticking it out and trying alternative remedies recommended by my naturopath. Still, it has been a difficult challenge mentally; I've been so worried about him and not sleeping well at all, feeling like I needed to stay alert in case he needs me. He's much better now, though, and life is slowly returning back to normal.

Also, I got very demotivated when I realized that I missed posting a bunch of days, which means that I've lost my chance at receiving the prize at the end of the month I know how super silly this is, but little goals like that are what keep me going, and this added to the hub's health scare made me feel like giving up altogether. But no, I joined this challenge for a bigger goal, for a greater task; I'll see it through and finish what I've started.

Thank you everyone.

Exercise- Monday January 16thZumba. Even better because I had to substitute for my boss/teacher, and when I'm the one giving the class I sweat SO. MUCH. MORE. It's insane how much more energy you need to put into the movements so others can be motivated to follow along. Whew!

Carolina, our month together is over! I hope you are doing well and received my last email. I know you have a lot going on, but please keep in touch and keep me posted on what's going on in your life! You can always reach me via email and I'm more than happy to help you in anyway I can! Keep up the good work- keep being strong! You are amazing!

I'm bummed that you haven't posted in a while, but I also understand that sometimes life gets in the way of things. Hey, we're planning to host a Summer ShapeUp challenge, similar to this New You for the New Year Challenge, so maybe you can join us again for that one! In the meantime, stick around the VBB forum website and keep posting, as lots of us will still be here to encourage and motivate and learn from one another!